When Andrea Meyer of Bisous Bisous Patisserie saw that her customers were posting online that they couldn’t find flour and yeast in the grocery stores, she reached out to them to find out what she could do to help.
“I put a poll out on social media and asked our customers if they wanted us to sell it, because we’ve got it,” she says. “At any given time, we have 500 pounds of flour and sugar ― and we’ve been stocking up, too, because we don’t know what’s going to happen to the supply chain.”
Because the response was so overwhelming, this week, Bisous Bisous began selling 1-pound portions of flour ― bread, all-purpose, and cake ― along with sugar and yeast for $1.50 at their retail location, along with their croissants and French macarons.
“I had one woman come in and buy 10 pounds of bread flour, 10 pounds of regular flour, and 10 pounds of cake flour,” Meyer says. “We’re not going to make a bunch of money on this, but we’re trying to pay attention to what our customers need and be a resource, and help our customers at this weird time.”
Coming soon at Bisous Bisous: baking kits, featuring some of her staff’s favorite childhood recipes, with all of the ingredients measured out and ready to assemble so people can bake at home with their families.
“Baking’s therapeutic, and there’s a certainty to it ― if you mix it this way, this will happen ― and right now we all need something that’s certain in our lives,” Meyer says.
The Culinary School of Fort Worth is also selling flour (King Arthur, all-purpose, in 5-pound bags for $11.45) and yeast (in 1-pound bags for $4.56), along with several other basic pantry items, such as ground beef, eggs, whole chickens that they break down themselves ― and even Cottonelle toilet paper ― out of a pop-up mini grocery that they opened a week ago. Rice and beans sold out in two days. Their top sellers right now? Flour and yeast.
“We’ve been thinking of ways to get creative with our revenue streams and serve the community, and provide work for our students, too,” says Scott Wade, president of the school. “We’re finding that fills a need for people who don’t want to go to the store.”
And for those on the other end of the supply chain, too. “Our suppliers sell to restaurants, not grocery stores, so they’re struggling, too.”
Empire Baking Company in Dallas has shifted its business model at its retail location at Inwood Village to more white and wheat breads, for people who are making more sandwiches at home, along with 5-pound bags of King Arthur flour.
“We are looking at what people need,” says Meaders Ozarow, who owns Empire with her husband, Robert. “We’re trying to stay responsive. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. Let’s do what we know, and do it well, and offer what we have in abundance.”
Empire’s retail business is far more quiet than it used to be, she says, but people are coming in and buying more things ― a few loaves at a time, premade sandwiches, pimento cheese, tuna salad and egg salad, plus some of the pantry items that they always sell: olive oil, jams, peanut butter, pasta and sauce, a few cheeses and dips, things that have some shelf life or that can be turned into meals quickly and easily.
“When you feel a certain kind of stress, you want to make your life simple and manageable,” Ozarow says. “We’re all trying to make it simple so it doesn’t feel so overwhelming.”
Signature Baking Company, a wholesaler located off of Regal Row that normally sells its bread products to area restaurants and large-scale venues like American Airlines Center and the State Fair, is now offering its breads, buns and rolls to the public ― as well as 5-pound bags of bread flour for $4 and 1-pound bags of fresh live yeast (it’s not dried; it’s what they use for their breads) for $10. They’ll also deliver it to you if you don’t want to drive across town to pick it up. They’ve recently hired some of the laid-off staff from Twisted Root, and the $4.99 delivery fee goes directly to the drivers.
Owner OJ DeSouza says Signature launched its at-home bread delivery business ― and with a new website to order from ― when Dallas restaurants closed their doors, and have been trying to keep up with the ever-changing demands of the new landscape.
“When we woke up this morning, we didn’t think we’d also be selling flour and yeast, but we’re adapting to what consumers are needing and making whatever we have available to them,” he says. “We have plenty of both, so people can come to us for those products, too.”
Ravelin Bakery in Denton is also selling flour to customers, but only when they ask for it.
“If someone comes in and is looking to buy flour, we’re selling it to them, but we’re not selling a lot of it,” says Adeline Helland, manager. Like Empire, Ravelin is currently selling more of its basic breads than anything else, like its specialty loaves and baked goods. “We’ve upped the production of sandwich bread because the kids are at home.”
So if there’s a bakery near you and you need some flour or yeast, or even sugar, chances are, they’ll sell you some, even if it’s not on a shelf.
“No one has called us and requested [flour or yeast], but we’re open to it,” says Alexa Rowan, office manager at Village Baking Company in Dallas. “It’s definitely something we’d be interested in doing. We already give out our sourdough starter if people want some.”